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Fleas; Problems, fascinating facts and their control
Introducing the Flea Fascinating Flea Facts The Fleas Life Cycle Why do we need to Control Fleas?	Flea Detection Controlling Fleas Fleas on Your Pet - the Evidence The Dangers of Fleas to Your Pets
Introducing the Flea Ctenocephalides felis or C. canis are commonly called cat and dog fleas. They are dark brown insects with a hard, outside skeleton. They have three pairs of legs, with a very large hind pair for which they are famous for jumping on and off their hosts. Adults are parasitic and suck the blood of their host animal.
Fascinating Flea Facts Just two female fleas found on your pet can mean up to 1000 eggs on your carpet! There are over 3000 different species of fleas found in the U.K. alone! A fossil flea was found in Australia, over 200 MILLION years old! Fleas are very powerful. If a flea were as big as a human, its jumping height would clear the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London! Controlling Fleas Lots of different products are available to control this very successful parasite. These can be divided depending on which part of the lifecycle they act upon. Those which kill the adult flea whilst it is on your pet are called adulticides and include, Frontline spray and spot-on and Stronghold. Those which kill the flea larvae whilst still in your carpet are called larvicides and include Acclaim and Staykill house sprays. These products also include another compund called an insect growth regulator. This stops the larvae developing so that they never become adult fleas. Program is also an insect growth regulator. It acts on the tiny egg tooth the unhatched larvae use to break out of the egg. The larvae's egg teeth are too soft to break out of the egg and never hatch. Thus program acts as a 'contraceptive' for the flea by rendering it effectively infertile. It is particularly useful in cats as it can be given by a long acting (6 months) injection. It can also be given orally once monthly to both cats and dogs. Flea control is only effective if all pets in the house are treated. This is especially true of program.	The Fleas Life-cycle Understanding their lifecycle is very important in controlling these parasites effectively. The most important points to remember are that fleas spend most of their life in the house NOT on your pets and that a single flea can produce many thousands of off-spring in a very short time. more... Why do we need to control fleas? Fleas can cause important diseases in dogs and cats, including anaemia, allergies and tapeworm. Some affect only dogs, and some only cats but there are some which affect both animals... Flea Detection It is easy to detect fleas on your pet! You will need a fine - tooth comb and some wet cotton wool or tissue paper. Just comb your dog or cat and look through the fur for Adult fleas: They are a dark - brown colour and about 2mm long. THEY MOVE FAST! They can be difficult to find, remember for every flea you find there are likely to be many more you don't Flea faeces: In the fur they appear as dark red / black commas shaped particles 0.5 to 1mm in size On wet cotton wool they dissolve forming a rust coloured halo (flea faeces is dried blood).
	Fleas of Your Pet The Evidence Flea faeces are evidence of fleas on your pet - even if fleas are not found! Above: Flea faeces: In the fur they appear as dark red / black comma shaped particles 0.5 to 1mm in size Above: On wet cotton wool they dissolve forming a rust coloured halo (flea faeces is dried blood).